Sediment in bottles

[Fotogrf]

Looking for some advice We made a strwberry wine (Fresh starawberrys)about 6 months ago, we have given away a few bottles and have several left. We are noticing more and more sediment in the bottles. Today i opened all the bottles and poured them into a carboy through coffee filters to get some of the sediment out. My issue is that the carboy is only about 2/3 full and at the moment I have it airlocked. Is it safe to let the wine sit with that much air space and let the sediment fall and rebottle it? Or should I just rebottle it and deal with the fallout of sediment?

 

[Rocky]

I would not take the chance on that much air space in a carboy. Do you have any 1 gallon jugs? Also, a coffee filter will not remove fine sediment.

 

[TonyP]

So you have 4 gallons of wine with 2 gallons of air, and you're wondering if you'll have a problem. Beyond keeping bugs out, you may as well skip the airlock because you already have sufficient air to cause oxidation. Add to that the oxygen added when you poured the wine into the carboy when filtering. Id take corrective action immediately.

As Rocky suggested, get the wine into bottles ASAP. I'd also add 1/8 tsp of k-meta.

 

[novalou]

Looking for some advice We made a strwberry wine (Fresh starawberrys)about 6 months ago, we have given away a few bottles and have several left. We are noticing more and more sediment in the bottles. Today i opened all the bottles and poured them into a carboy through coffee filters to get some of the sediment out. My issue is that the carboy is only about 2/3 full and at the moment I have it airlocked. Is it safe to let the wine sit with that much air space and let the sediment fall and rebottle it? Or should I just rebottle it and deal with the fallout of sediment?

Get some 1 gallon jugs if you want time for it to settle out.

 

[Fotogrf]

Well it has set about 2 hours on the counter in the carboy so i opted to just go ahead and rebottle it alot of sediment had already fallen. We left half a bottle or so in the bottom and just pulled off the top. Thanks everyone for the input i think we should have let it set a bit longer before bottling it. I am assuming that it is still safe to drink?

 

[TonyP]

Well it has set about 2 hours on the counter in the carboy so i opted to just go ahead and rebottle it alot of sediment had already fallen. We left half a bottle or so in the bottom and just pulled off the top. Thanks everyone for the input i think we should have let it set a bit longer before bottling it. I am assuming that it is still safe to drink?

Two quick points. First, it should be safe to drink; the only issues being taste and odor. Second, I agree with your point on waiting to settle - although you probably didn't have an issue if you didn't mind the sediment.

 

[jswordy]

There are wineries now marketing their wines with a small amount of sediment in the bottles as "living wine," as opposed to filtered wines. I just saw an interview with a vintner proclaiming his wines as such.

In my experience as someone who does not filter, no matter how long you bulk age, if you keep an unfiltered wine in bottles long enough you will eventually get sediment. It happens rarely for me but when it does it's no bother, I just set the bottle upright in the fridge the day before I drink it and leave a small amount behind.

 

[Polarhug]

Try to not despair over a little bit of sediment. Especially when you are learning patience is your friend in winemaking. It's tough to wait!

A decanter was invented for this reason. "A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment"

A marketed wine with chunks can be off putting & offend someone with delicate sensibilities, but then again I never was very delicate

 

[Sammyk]

I have a few wines with small amounts of sediment in the bottom. I mark the cork with felt tip pen when we are bottling with "L" on the cork means it was one of the last few bottled and we keep those for our use.
Problem solved!

 

[Arne]

Had a batch of strawberry that sat on the shelf for well over 6 months. (Think it was closer to a year.) Finally bottled it, two weeks later it settled some sediment in the bottle. It was nice and clear before I bottled it. Think strawberry can be sneaky that way. Last couple of batches of it have been filtered. No sediment problem. Arne.